Here is a nice note from HPL about a shopping trip he and Sonia took ...
"You'll recall that I obtained a pen apiece for SH (Sonia) & myself last October at a price of $1.28 ... we found the sale still on {&} the salesman still willing to make exchanges. ...to obtain real satisfaction one must invest in a real Waterman ... I did not escape from the emporium till a $6.25 Waterman reposed in my pocket - a modern self-filler corresponding to the ancient $6.00 type which I bought in 1906 & lost seventeen years later amidst the sands of Marblehead in the summer of 1923 ... the feed is certainly a relief after sundry makeshifts - tho' I think I'll change this especial model tomorrow for one with a slightly coarser point - one less likely to scratch on rough paper. It is certainly good to be back among the Watermans again ..."
Letter of 30 January 1926 to Lillian Clark, p. 276-277, Letters From New York, Joshi & Schultz, 2005.
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ReplyDeleteOops, I messed up on the last comment! x.x I meant to write,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Inflation Calculator (http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi): $1.28 in 1925 would be $14.62 in 2006 dollars. $6.25 in 1926 is $69.63 in 2006 dollars, and $6 in 1906 is $129.83 in 2006 dollars!
-Hana
Hana, thanks for doing that. I think many Lovecraft enthusiasts would know that this was a fortune to him.
ReplyDelete